Back to the Basics
by lolita-and-the-diamonds
Summary: Hachi and the gang find Nana after six years of her going missing. Everyone is glad she's back, but they all learn that she is a lot more detached than she used to be. Yasu and Hachi are probably the only ones who can bring the old Nana back. AU. Yasu/Nana. Friendship Nana/Hachi.
1. Chapter 1: Surprise, Surprise

Back to the Basics

Nana valued honesty more than anything. She hated it when people acted sneaky and lied about things behind her back. Which is why she was still mad at Ren, even after death. Sure, he didn't _actually_ lie to her because she never asked if he was off somewhere getting high. But, he was still _mostly_ at fault for never telling her anything about it. They were supposed to tell each other everything. Right?

But then that would mean that she wasn't being honest, either. She never told him about her going off to seek comfort from Yasu at her lowest points. She kept telling herself it's cause he wouldn't have cared or he never asked, (hypocrisy is a bitch, isn't it?) but, deep down, she knew it was because he would've gotten jealous.

 _I wonder what he's doing now,_ Nana thought idly to herself, the sea breeze billowing her long, bleached hair away from her face. She smirked at the thought. _Heh, he's probably still bald._ Her smirk quickly faded. _And he's probably still with that Miu chick, too._

Nana vaguely remembered Miu; she had only met the girl a handful of times and didn't talk with her all that much. From the small instances she spoke and saw her, Nana recalled that she also had her own personal demons. Nana released a deep, long sigh worth six whole years of pent-up stress, brushing her bangs back from her face. _I hope she's doing okay and doesn't worry Yasu. God knows how busy he is worrying about people._ This briefly provoked another serious thought.

 _I wonder if he worries about me… Has he thought about me at all these past six years?_ Nana managed to set free a small chuckle. _Of course he's thought about me. He's Yasu for Christ's sake. He worries about everyone. Even little old me, the girl he couldn't have because of his devotion for Ren. But, it has been six years since I last saw him. He probably got over me by now. Yet, I wonder if he still thinks about me… Is he thinking about me now, at this very moment?_

Thinking about her old life always made Nana confused and guilty. Confused for feelings that always managed to bubble up to the surface, guilty for things she should have done instead of running away, things she should have cleared up… But, now, it was too late. Nana made up her mind a few weeks after Ren's death to leave for good; she went to a library (no way was she gonna lay her hands on Ren's laptop), looked up places with cold weather and nearby beaches, packed her things, and bought herself a ticket to England. She always did things for a reason with no regrets. No way was she gonna be all mopey and sulk about her decision now that it was over and done with. Which meant that there was no way she was ever going back.

Besides, one can't just appear out of nowhere after going AWOL for _six freakin' years._ It wouldn't be fair to them if she just waltzed into their lives, expecting things to go back to the way they were meant to be. She would probably make things all complicated and weird. In her eyes, if they had managed to live six years without her presence, they wouldn't need her for many more to come.

 _No, that's not why you don't wanna go. You don't want to see them again 'cause you're scared. You're scared that they managed to live happy, productive lives with their loved ones and here you are, sitting on some beach, thinking about how much life sucks without them. You're scared that you'll realize that they don't need you. That, in the end, you need them. It's completely, undoubtedly cruel and selfish, but it's true._

 _And most of all, you're scared that Hachi was capable of being happy. Without you. And with Takumi, nonetheless._

Nana closed her eyes and clenched her teeth, ignoring her straightforward thoughts and focusing on the lulling sound of waves crashing against the shore and her surroundings. The sea salt mixed with the stinging, brisk air and burned its way into her lungs with every sharp intake of breath. The sea gulls sang their bleak songs as they flew overhead. In the distance, she could hear a mother playing with her children, their ecstatic giggles filling the air. She opened her eyes to take it all in.

The mother with the kids looked to be about Nana's age. Her kids seemed to be six and three years old, respectively. Nana sighed. _The first one is probably Hachi's kid's age._ With that, Nana wrenched her eyes from the happy family and started her vigorous walk home, her hands wiping away the tears that wanted to desperately make their presence known.

*******N A N A*******

"Thank you everyone. Enjoy your night," Nana bade a farewell to everyone, signaling an end to her performance. Since it was a fancy restaurant, the audiences gave a light, polite applause, something she still wasn't accustomed to even after performing at the place for quite some time. She still missed her loud, rambunctious audience that would stomp, scream, yell, and always gave a thunderous applause at her gigs.

Nana made her way backstage to the small little area she called her's when she was given her job. It was nothing more than a tidy, little corner that should've had a vanity with lots of makeup, but held nothing more than a cramped desk and a wooden stool where she placed her bag. Even her bag was practically empty, holding chapstick, two different shades of red lipstick, some dwindling mascara, old eyeshadow that she could only wear outside of work (too dramatic), some money, her old lighter, and a pack of Black Stone Cherry cigarettes. It wasn't like she needed a lot.

Nana stopped dead in her tracks, however, when she noticed the sight in front of her.

Hachi sat on the stool, clutching Nana's purse, trying to keep her tears from falling. This proved futile once she made eye contact with Nana.

"Oh, Nana!" Hachi jumped up from the stool, resulting in her purse and belongings to go flying in all directions. She swiftly wrapped her arms around the shocked bottle-blonde in a bone-crunching hug.

"H-Hachi," Nana heard herself saying through the pounding in her ears. She returned the hug, holding on for dear life in fear of losing the petite brunette again. "This- this can't be real…"

She closed her eyes, tears rushing down her face, relishing the feel of the girl she longed to hold in her arms once again after a six-year absence. _It's been way too long._ She still smelled like strawberry shampoo and wild flowers. Her hair was still as soft as a puppy's, her skin as soft as mochi. Hachi, despite the small changes in her appearance, was still Hachi. And that made Nana extremely happy.

Nana opened her eyes upon releasing Hachi to take a good look at her. Her hair was longer and she had aged a bit (with a kid to raise, along with Takumi for a husband, who wouldn't?), giving her a more mature look, but, for the most part, she still looked like the naive girl she had met on the train six years ago.

"Nana, I-I missed you so much!" Hachi hiccuped from her loud crying. "It took us forever to find you, but we did it!" Hachi reached out to cup her face. "But… why'd you leave, Nana?"

Nana couldn't bring herself to tell her why. "I-I don't know… Everything was just… too much to handle." Sometimes, she thought she knew why she ran away, but other times, it seemed like she had no reason to go and she would forget why she left in the first place.

She looked behind Hachi, unable to meet her curious eyes, to see no other than the man who used to be one of the only people she could truly seek comfort in, lighting his trademark Black Stone Cherry cigarette.

"It's nice to see you, Nana," he said, as if they were meeting up for a weekly get-together. He took a long drag and, without the prevention of his sunglasses, looked her right in the eye. "I missed you."

Nana immediately lunged at him, wrapping her arms around his strong waist, knocking him back a couple feet. She could vaguely hear him stomping out the cigarette she could only guess she accidentally knocked from his hand.

He encased his arms around her and settled them on the small of her back. "Well, aren't you glad to see me," he chuckled, rubbing small, gentle circles across her back.

"Shut up, baldy," Nana cried into his chest, clutching tighter onto his black suit.

If it weren't for the quiet atmosphere of the elegant restaurant, he would've almost missed when Nana said, "I missed you, too."

A/N: This took me about three hours to write. Is that a good thing? Anyways, I haven't read the manga in over FOUR YEARS, so if I fuck up with info, please let me know, and I will try to change it. If that doesn't happen, just roll with it, for the sake of the story. This is kinda AU-ish anyways, so.

Don't forget to review! Feedback is much appreciated.

Oh, and if you get the title reference, you earned yourself a digital cookie (hint: Lana Del Rey unreleased)!


	2. Chapter 2: Shut it, Baldy!

Nana sat in the back of Yasu's brand new sleek car with Hachi, holding her warm, delicate hand. Her window was open, knocking her and Hachi's hair in all directions. At the moment, they didn't say anything, trying to get over the shock of the situation.

Nana was busy wondering how the hell they had managed to find her. _Seriously, though. How'd they do it? Not that I'm not happy or anything, but… how?_ It didn't make any sense. She didn't leave a cookie crumb trail of where she was going. Well, unless you counted her like of the Sex Pistols and Vivienne Westwood, all of whom originated in London, there _shouldn't_ have been any easy leads.

Nana sighed. _I shouldn't worry about that right now. I should just be happy they found me. If they didn't, I would've never come back on my own. Which reminds me…_

Nana cleared her throat. "So, how is everyone doing? Back home, I mean." Already, she was getting a bit flustered. It's not like you could casually resume talking to people who you hadn't seen in over five years.

"Oh, well, Shin is an actor now," Hachi announced with a proud tone in her voice.

"Wow, since when could Shin act?" It truly did astonish Nana. She thought the kid was only good at playing bass and being a pretty face. But she knew that people would move on to other passions and interests if, for some reason, they were hindered.

Hachi's eyes cast downward at her hands, which were still encased in Nana's, a solemn expression on her face. "Um, a little after you left…" Hachi glanced at Nana, searching her face for some sort of emotion.

Nana looked out her side's window. "Good for him. Maybe that'll keep him out of trouble." She knew why he moved on to acting. She hindered his chances of making a living from BLAST, essentially ruining his chance of making a name for himself. Of course he would've had to find something else he was good at, aside from bedding women. And it made Nana mad. He loved playing bass; it was his calling. And then she had to go and run away, preventing BLAST from making their big debut at their tour.

She bit down on her lip, looking for some sort of sustenance from the ugly truth. "What about… how's Nobu doing?" She needed to know he made a living off of playing his guitar. _Please don't tell me he-_

"Nobu's doing great! He took over his dad's hotel, but… he doesn't seem very happy with it. But he still plays guitar!" Hachi said, trying to sound hopeful. She kept her hooded gaze down at her hands, knowing fully well that Nana was slowly tearing herself apart for her actions.

Nana gripped tighter onto Hachi's hand, balling her other hand into a fist. She continued looking out the car window, unable to bear the thought of Hachi realizing that she was crying.

She suddenly realized that someone else was in the car, driving them to her apartment complex near the beach.

Nana glanced at the rear-view mirror, only to find that Yasu was watching her with an unreadable expression. She skirted her eyes away in embarrassment and turned her head to fully face the window, blocking her face from Hachi and Yasu's vision.

The car was silent and quiet for the rest of the drive home.

*******N A N A*******

Nana fished her keys out from her purse and opened the door to her small apartment.

It wasn't anything luxurious. The walls were off-white with peeling wallpaper that Nana never cared to fix, the light fixture hanging from the ceiling was yellowing and collecting dust, the brown carpet was growing threadbare, exposing the floorboards underneath, and it held little furniture.

There was a small, gray kotatsu sitting on top of a cheap-looking tatami mat with two red cushions where guests would seat themselves. In the corner stood a quaint wooden table that held a newspaper and what looked to be someone's half eaten omelet, along with a wooden chair.

Nana wasn't one to be embarrassed of something as insignificant as her living conditions. She _was_ planning to move sometime this year, saving up as much as she could by cheaping out on furniture and food, and even accepting hand-me-down furniture, such as her fridge, from old tenants who moved. It was working quite well until someone had stolen her cash from her workplace. She couldn't imagine who, as everyone was rich in some form or another, but she eventually let it go and decided to leave her money at her house instead of lugging it around in her purse.

Yet, as self-assured as Nana could be, she could definitely feel the heat in her cheeks as she welcomed her guests inside and hurried to clear away her breakfast and week-old newspaper. "Sorry about the mess. I was in a bit of a hurry this morning to get to work. And I wasn't expecting guests."

Hachi smiled that warm smile of hers that let Nana know she wasn't one to judge. "Nana, we really don't mind. Besides, my house is almost never clean with Satsuki running around, always making a mess!" She let out a lighthearted laugh and jokingly slapped Yasu's arm. "Hey, Yasu? Remember that one time Satsuki was eating spaghetti and threw a handful of noodles at your head? And she said she wanted to give you hair? That was hilarious! Well, until I had to clean it all up."

Nana turned rigid at the sound of the unfamiliar name that came out of Hachi's mouth. _Satsuki. The child of Takumi and Hachi. My enemy and my best friend._

 _And they named her after a flower, no less._

Yasu could sense the uncomfortable stance Nana was in. "Hachi, why don't you tell her about what Junko and Kyosuke have been up to? I'm sure she'd like to know."

Hachi looked lost. "Um, alright. So Kyosuke and Jun are both still into art. Oh, and just last week they had their own exhibit! They painted a bunch of…" Hachi continued rambling on about Jun and Kyosuke's various paintings and what else they'd been up to, effectively distracting Nana from her conflicting thoughts for the moment.

Nana gazed at Yasu for a moment, giving him a small smile that showed she was thankful for the distraction. Yasu returned his own closed-lip smile, almost as if he was saying, "You're welcome."

After Hachi had caught up Nana with what she had missed the last six years over a couple of beers, which ranged from Mai becoming Shin's manager to Yasu officially becoming a lawyer, Nana finally asked the question they were all afraid to ask.

"So… why are you guys here exactly? Not that I'm not happy or anything, because I am, but… I know you guys didn't come here just for a visit," Nana spoke.

Hachi fiddled with the hem of her white blouse. "We- we want to know if you'd like to come back with us to Japan." Hachi stopped her ministrations to give Nana her full attention. "But, we aren't gonna force you. We all want you to come back on your free will, not because we imposed." She moved around the kotatsu to sit right next Nana and grabbed her free hand that wasn't holding a beer. "That doesn't mean I won't do anything I can to change your mind, though."

Nana shut her eyes closed, sighing out of frustration. "I… I don't know. I don't know if I can go back and face everyone when I was the one who fucked up their lives and I threw everything-"

"Nana." Yasu reached across the kotatsu, gently lifted her beer from her grasp to set it aside, and grabbed both her hands in his. "Come back to Tokyo with me." He rubbed his thumb across the back of her knuckles. "Please."

For a second, Nana could only stare into Yasu's eyes. She could tell that he was being completely serious and detected an almost desperate, pleading emotion just from looking at those brown, hooded eyes of his. They were usually inexpressive, as he always managed to hide how he was truly feeling, always taking into account the feelings of others instead of his own. It was too much to handle, which is why it lasted only a second until she looked away.

Nana turned away from him, yanking her hands away from his grasp and reaching for her box of cigs. She leaned against the kotatsu as she lit her cigarette, her back facing Yasu. She took a long drag before turning her head to acknowledge him again, but not fully facing him.

"Fine. I'll think about it," Nana grumbled, giving in to Yasu's request.

She could see Yasu smiling from the corner of her eye as Hachi cheered happily and jumped up in euphoria to tackle Nana in a big bear hug. "Just remember, Baldy. I'm only doing this for Hachi. So don't get any funny ideas!" Nana declared.

Yasu raised his hands in mock-surrender, but didn't let his smile fade. "Alright, alright. As long as you come back, I don't care about anything else."

Nana could literally _feel_ the second her cheeks burnt up. "And wipe that grin off your face before I wipe it off _for_ you!"

Hachi and Yasu started laughing joyously. "There's the Nana I know!" Hachi beamed.

And for the rest of the night, Nana and Yasu shared lighthearted banter while Hachi pleasantly laughed at Nana's silliness as the newfound blonde slowly got more and more drunk.

A/N: Again, I did this within six hours, so forgive me if there are mistakes. And I realized this might be a bit confusing for people who have only seen the anime, so I'll try to explain everything.

In the manga, Nana runs off to London without telling anyone. The mangaka, Ai Yazawa, never shows when this happens, so I'm going to pretend she runs away it a little bit before Hachi gives birth to Ren (her other kid), who is named after Ren (duh) because he dies from a car crash after getting high in the manga, before Hachi even gives birth to her kid.

She is gone for a certain amount of time (I forgot whether Yazawa explains for how long or just shows that she's been gone for a while) and I _think_ the gang gave up looking for her, believing her to be dead, or they just couldn't find her.

If you have any questions, ask me! Just keep in mind I may not have the answer to everything because it's been a _while_ since I last read the manga.

Remember to review! I love feedback!


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